GPS pioneer company Garmin has once again raised the bar with regards to new technology and field use for hunters with the Garmin Alpha. The Garmin Alpha carries on the tradition set by the Garmin Astro 320, one of the most comprehensive dog tracking GPS systems in use. The Garmin Alpha builds on the Astro’s success by increasing the number of trackable dogs to 20 over the prior 10 as well as a full menu of new and standard functions.

Training

One of the highlights and standout features of the new Alpha system is the ability to use the device to train the sporting dogs as well as track them. Up until now, there has never been a device like this on the market, and with it, the training field has been changed for the better.

While using the Alpha, it is possible to use a remote device to give a mild shock to the dog when in training. Imagine the benefits of being able to deliver a small (and harmless) shock to the dog to direct it to soft-mouth, turn right or left, go on point, flush, or retrieve during training sessions. This is a direct “stick and carrot” training tool that only builds your relationship with the sporting dog into a stronger and better bond. The dog receives the stimulus via the Alpha control and knows exactly what is expected when coupled with the voice and hand signal commands. Now, instead of taking weeks and months to begin the sporting dog’s training, the time can be shortened through the ease of use provided by the Garmin Alpha.

This training feature is the result of Garmin partnering with Tri-Tronics, a sporting dog-training specialist. Tri-Tronics and Garmin made the Alpha so a touch screen display can be used up to nine-miles away during hunts and training. Up to 20 dogs can be tracked during a hunt with the display, and up to 20 can benefit from the training tools, provided all of the dogs have the Alpha GPS device installed onto their collar. Send the dogs off on scent and don’t worry about trying to keep up, the touch screen monitor keeps you in monitoring zones by showing the dog’s location on the screen relevant to your position. If the dog begins to go off in an undesired direction, the training shock can be delivered, keeping the pup at bay.

The Display and Handheld

The touch screen display is three-inches by three-inches and is made to function even while wearing gloves. This is great for cold autumn hunts or times when the snow and temperatures are falling. Using GPS technology the Alpha monitors simultaneous feeds from any device on the dogs as well as the home Alpha unit’s position with the hunter. The Alpha updates positions up to 2.5 times a second over nine-miles and with up to 20 dogs! This is really groundbreaking tech for sporting dog use. The handheld devices use replaceable lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that are packed into the waterproof handheld screen. The handheld uses a charger mount that allows the unit to get juiced up quickly. Expect the handheld to handle recharge cycles upwards of several thousand times. This unit is made for tough use and it shows right down to the battery itself. The screen has a brightness adjustment and an anti-glare covering that makes use in bright sunlight possible. Set the screen lighting levels to your preferred detail using the touch screen sliders. Again, even a gloved finger yields results when making adjustments on the fly.

Corrections and training simulations can be set via the quickest pre-programmed settings or customized via touch-screen menus and drop downs. The Alpha default settings are based on 18-levels of linear stimulation, of which they can be set and altered to low, medium and high adjustments.

Maps can be up- and downloaded using wireless tech. Garmin’s own maps may be used along with other map sources like BirdsEye Satellite Imagery. Switch your default map off the touch screen menu and drop downs after uploading new datum. Garmin ships the Alpha pre-loaded with 100k topographical USGS maps for United States use, and Canadian maps for those using the product north of the border.

“Buddy Tracker”

The Garmin Alpha is the first system of its kind to feature the “Buddy Tracker” function. Providing that all members of the hunting party as well as their dogs are equally equipped with an Alpha all members of the hunting party can be monitored along with 20 dogs. There is no guesswork anymore. With the Alpha everyone knows where everyone else is along with the dogs. No more danger of firing in an unsafe direction, no more trying to backtrack and find party members and no more lengthy dog recovery periods. You have all the data in your hand via the touch screen display.

Not only does the Buddy Tracker keep tabs on everyone it can be used to send pre-set text messages to members of the party. There are buttons for “Help,” “Come Here,” “Go On Without Me” and “Okay.” Custom messages can be established prior to the trip by programming the Alpha with your specific text-commands or desired messages.

Dog Tracker Page

By navigating the Alpha to the Dog Tracker screen all the hunters in the party can follow the dog’s and other hunter’s movements on the full color screen along with a real-time digital compass. Name each dog by entering the name into the GPS collar device and that name appears next to the dog icon on the display. This removes any doubt for what animal is where. The compass is color-coded and uses a three-axis antenna to deliver accurate directions to track and follow whatever the user wants from the display.

TT Dog Collar

The TT 10 Alpha dog collar is the GPS device that syncs into the GPS satellites. The collar’s internal antenna is made of durable and hardy aircraft cable, meaning the collar will withstand the worst the dog can throw at it and still remain accurate and precise. Internal and integrated LED beacons along the collar can be activated via the handheld home screen Alpha device from up to 100 yards away. This helps give a visual location when searching for the dogs. Should the battery levels go below 25 percent at any time on the TT collar a dog rescue mode automatically switches the TT 10 to the two-minute update to preserve precious power. An alert will be made to the Alpha handheld device, letting the hunter or trainer know the situation with the TT collar battery levels. If the dogs are used for swimming and waterfowl retrieval, the TT’s waterproof qualities are good up to 10 meters, much deeper than any dog is going to go. The rechargeable interface is nearly impermeable to mud and grime, making field recharges nearly effortless. The TT collar battery charge is good up to 44 hours of continued use and will accept charge-cycles up to several thousand times. One alpha TT collar is included with the Alpha kit package and additional Garmin Alpha collars are available for $299 at Double U Hunting Supply. New TT collars can be sync very quickly to any Alpha display handheld device.

Package Contents

Garmin prices the Alpha system kit at $799.99 This includes the chargers, cords, one TT 10 collar, Alpha handheld device and a water-resistant field bag for storage and transport of the gear. Like all Garmin products the Alpha comes with a factory backed warranty against maker defects or faults. The Garmin Alpha TT Collar can sync with all other Alpha products and makes field training and sporting dog hunts effortless on the chase, maximizing the precious field time for the hunt itself.

Garmin’s partnering with Tri-Tronics has upped the game for sporting dog hunts and made the training process easier. With both companies standing tall and confident in the final product, you can buy the Alpha knowing full well it is the result of years of development and quality in the research and development of Garmin and Tri-Tronics.

Good For You and Your Canine Pals

The Alpha represents the highest safety and navigation quality available. This means you and your four-legged assistants are protected from getting lost, accidental firings based on guess-work or not being able to get a voice-call in to retrieve the pup. Your dogs are working dogs for sure, but they are also valued friends and assistants for your hard-earned field time and hunts. Using the Garmin Alpha is a sure way to keep your furry investments safe from harm. You invest all the time to train them (and that has just been made easier by the Alpha) so keep that investment wagging its tail for years to come. Get out in the field and begin using this cutting edge and exciting GPS technology that will make your hunt better. Your dogs will appreciate the quick training times and act happier once they know exactly what you expect of them. Bring along other party members with Alpha units and keep tabs on them too. There is nothing like being outside and on the hunt, and with today’s GPS tech like the Alpha, that time has become safer and more efficient.

Where To Buy:

Heavy Duty Double Tuff Skin antenna

By popular demand we have created a new and more durable Tuff DC30 Antenna.    Many people have asked us about the Tuff Skin Antenna’s and we decided to build one that was Double Tuff, with Double the Warranty of the Other Tuff Skin DC30 antennas.

I think you’ll find  Double Tuff design has a few features that they other don’t, a no question asked 2 year warranty to start,  and Orange cover for visibility.

It’s  been measured and Tested for SWR to make sure that it matches the Stock DC30 antenna.  We have found it to have a Lower SWR than the stock antennas which means that more signal power get’s out into the air over the stock antenna.

The Double U “Double Tuff” Antenna normally list’s for 19.99 and that’s where you’ll find most Garmin Dealers selling these type of antennas for,  However for a Limited time Double U will have them for only $12.  Click the link below.

Buy a Double Tuff Garmin DC30 (Tuff Skin) Style Antenna.

Most Dealers sell Their antennas for 20 dollars, a few might give a 1 year Warranty.  Double U Graphics Selling These Double Tuff,  Tuff Skin DC30 antennas  for almost 1/2 the price ($12 ) with  Double the warranty( 2 year warranty)

The Double Tuff Dc30 antenna’s also have orange covering and good end protection caps on the top of the antenna to give more visibility and safety for your hounds.

For all your Garmin DC30 and DC40  needs Make sure you visit Double U to get the best deal, price and service.

*** NOTE: I Did update my 220 Before trying any of these tests According to Garmins instructions,  I also reviewed Garmins Press release before conducting these tests.

Both Collars are on the Same dog.

I’m offering a Free DayGlo Collar with every DC30. We use a Heavy Duty Protective sleeve, Not the Rubber, or Sewn sleeves.

http://www.dugraphics.com/shop/products/Garmin_DC30_tracking_collar-265-34.html

Senario 1:   Conditions are rainy and wet.  After explaining to a dog which happens to be smarter than me that She was the choosen one to “take one for the team”  I strapped on a DC30 and DC40 on her and Waited for the DC40 to explode.  I soon reliazed that the dog would live, and the DC40 wasn’t going to Explode.      We took a Walk on our property,  After all the bad reviews I was reading I was expecting The DC40 to Drop off immediately.. this was definately not the case.  However the DC40 Did drop off and lose GPS signal 3 times in my 10 minute or 5 acre walk.   Every time it was only momentarily and immeadiately picked up signal so I was not able to capture a image of the Red 1 bar GPS signal.   

When I had the Dog go through the wet brush (I use the term Brush Lightly since it was only Up to my knees, and I didn’t cuss once)  The Signal Dropped a Bar of GPS signal.   I checked the DC30 and it was Full reception.   ( I should note that at no time during any test could I get the DC30 to Drop from Full GPS signal..)

After I realized that the DC40 was going to be hard to capture a failure in an open timber setting, I went to the House and Loaded the dog into the Dog box.  Immediately the DC40 lost GPS signal.  The DC30 did not blink or change from Full GPS reception.    I thought Yes Bingo.  I have the failure…  By the time I got the camera to capture the screen showing the Red GPS reception (bars) screen.  The DC40 was back on bouncing between full reception and 3 bars GPS Reception.    Although I did snag a Photo of the warning message. 

Should I note again that at no time did I get any warning from the DC30.  Nothing.  Full GPS reception for all tests. 

So after I looked out the window I noticed the “smart” dog was giving me an Evil eye for locking her up in the Box for no apparent reason.    I decided to take my test Indoors and really put the Hurt on the GPS reception issue..  Surely nothing would track in the house.

I put the dog in her Dog Bed, which is about Dead center of my house.  Again DC30 did not flinch,  Full GPS signal.  I thought for sure I would loose both the DC40 and DC30.  I can say even after only 20 minutes with the DC40 I wasn’t surprized when the DC40 Gave me another lost GPS warning message.   And consistantly shown again between 3 and full reception.   The DC30 never gave any warning and Shown solid full reception.

I layed the 220 down next to the dog to show how many Satelites were availble.  10 satelites is extremely good.  I would rate this as an EXCELENT GPS day.   Which should explain why the DC30 did better than I expected.     Garmin GPS need approximately 4 satelites to lock and calculate position.  With 10 satelites in the mix that was very easy to do today.

My last test was a Accuracy test.  I left the dog lay in her bed for about 30 minutes,  while tracking.   I zoomed into the map to see which one held the tightest pattern.   Again A Clear winner, the DC30 held accuracy much better than the DC40.  This screen just shows how much the DC40 was struggling to hold it’s position.

Red is DC40,  Green is DC30.    Clearly the DC30 held a more accurate pattern over the DC40 while the dog was abolutely still laying down.  This test doesn’t show anything except the DC40 was trying much harder to Lock into a GPS satelite to calculate it’s position.

Conclusion,  Today was an Excellent (Above Average) GPS tracking day which leaves no excuses for any GPS device.  The DC40 is Barely holding on, while the DC30 and 220 handheld showed very little problems through out any test.   In short The DC40 problems are not “Percieved” as Garmin would have you think.

My recomendation is Definately the DC30 is a better more accurate setup.  However the DC40 performed Decent,  Had no one experience a DC30 garmin would be able to Pass the DC40 off as Good.  However We have all gotten used to the DC30 Performing well and the DC40 simply is lacking in the GPS reception department. 

 Should you want the Best with Less headaches and Loss of GPS Signal Messages, It is besst to stick with the DC30.

You can purchase both on my website at really good deals at www.DuGraphics.com/shop 

However if you want a DC40, Please send me a message letting me know you Read this review and want one anyways.   i don’t want to deal with Returns from customers who think the DC40 is going to be better then the DC30.

Garmin Astro Combo’s with DC40 is on the map.    There is No Sign of the DC40′s by them self, however I am sure they will be availible a few months after the release date. (this is a guess)
Here is what I do know.

Official Release Date : August      However Limited Distribution until December.  So it will be very difficult for folks to get them for a Good Deal,  Expect a new Full price $649  for combo only Prices before December.

The price shows there will be an increase in the DC40 combo’s  to 649.00   Haven’t seen anything to tell, but I assume this means the Collar prices will increase also.   Might be 249 per collar.. But again this is just speculation right now with the new information.

Check this site often, I will be using this site for Tip’s Techniques and information.

At times you may experience Problems with a Garmin Astro DC30 Collar.  I’ve heard And experienced reports of the following problems with Garmin DC 30 Collars

• Will not Charge
• Will Not sync with the Garmin Astro 220 (While Other DC30 Collars sync Just fine)

Before trying to do a Hard Reset for the Garmin Astro 220 DC30 Collar you should try and identify if it is the collar or the 220 Reciever.   the easiest way you can do this is to check your Tracking System with another collar.  If the second collar works fine then you can assume that you DC30 is not working as it should.

Charging Problems with the Garmin DC30.

The charging Ports of the Garmin DC30 can be filled with debris and Junk from running them out in the woods.   You should make sure that their is not debris blocking the port so the Charger can make good contact with the metal pins. 

Another point I’ve noticed, is that if my collar is almost fully charged,  some times it will not charge even though I’ve used the collar for a few hours.  In this situation I will leave the collar on to use more battery and then it will charge normal.

Lastly, If these do not fix your problem you should try to “reset” the DC30 by removing the Back Plate (silver piece)  and remove the Four Small philips screws to access the battery.   Very Carefully Disconnect the battery connector from the board.    Leave the battery Disconnected for about 15 minutes,  reconnect, and Carefully re assemble the collar to try again.   Sometimes this will fix you issue.

Garmin DC30 not communicating with the Garmin 220. 

First i would Check all the basics,  make sure the collar is charged.

I aslo would Delete and Re establish the Dog Collar in you system by going to the Dog List on the menu of the Astro 200,  I would probabably recomend Reseting  the 220 reciever since it is much easier to reset that than the Collar.

Lastly, If these do not fix your problem you should try to “reset” the DC30 by

1. Removing the Back Plate (silver piece) 
2.  While Your looking at the connections for the two antennas, I would check to make sure there is nothing wrong with both the GPS antenna connection, and the VHF Antenna on the collar.   Personally I carefully disconnect each and make sure they are both clean and free of Debris and Junk.  (good Solid connection here will only help the performance of the collar)   You can carefully use a brush or electronics contact cleaner for the VHF antenna (Screw mount)  (See images below).  I would not put anything into the SMP (square Antenna wire connector)

Removing the VHF Antenna on a DC30

Clean this before re-intalling. Very Important to have a good Electrical connection3. Remove the Four Small philips screws on the outside of the case to acess the battery and electronics compartment. Very Carefully Disconnect the white battery connector from the board (see images below). Leave the battery Disconnected for about 15-20 minutes for a full reset, Reconnect it to the board.. (CAREFULLY) Here you Can see the battery Connector for the DC 30 Garmin

Different Angle of the connector for Dc30

 That is A Garmin DC30 Reset Instructions,  and Many times when you are having Problems with Garmin DC30 collars this is the First step Garmin will ask you to do before sending them back.

Convert your Garmin Astro DC30 collar to Dayglo

Garmin Astro DC 30 DayGlo collar conversions.

Buy Garmin DayGlo Collars

Easy to Change out the stock Collar. This does not effect the warranty on the Garmin Astro 220 or the Garmin DC30 collars.  All you need is a Philips Screw driver, and a Needle Nose style Pliers.
Step By Step instructions for converting you DC30 to Dayglo strap can be found here.

Download Instructions